Melbourne - Our Gluten Free Sojourn

We  OK 'I' have always been a little apprehensive about venturing outside of our comfort zone since we boarded this gluten free bus.  After all, we have had some not-very fun glutening episodes with our girl that have previously rocked the holiday vibe. And not in a good way.  Yeah that.

BUT you can't live in a bubble forever can you.  Well you probably can but where's the fun in that.  Not if you don't have to anyway.  Because that would be.. well.. STUPID.  

We have stuff to see, cool things to do, people to meet and best of all delicious gluten free food to eat and all of this OUTSIDE of our suburb.  It's out there.  Our mission: GO. SEEK. FIND.

I had my big girl pants on.  We were breaking out of this gluten free comfort zone.

Naturally I did a lot of research.  I mean A LOT.  

We were going on a real life HOLIDAY.

WE WERE MELBOURNE BOUND! 

Qantas kicked things off nicely.  Upon checking-in ~ "2 Gluten Free meals Mrs Hart?" Yes indeed.  

Too easy.  Aside from the in-flight entertainment (loosely translates to HEAVEN when travelling with kids), everyone with their OWN channels and OWN headphones and OWN choices and.. subsequently no arguments.  I settled in with the latest copy of Australian Gluten-Free Life.  I was set.  "Come Fly With Me.. Come Fly.. Come Fly Awaaaaaaaaayyyy.."

Qantas did good. We had gluten free bread, we had Mediterranean Lamb & vegetables, we had Rowie's Cakes and Good Lord we even had Salted Caramel Ice-cream thank-you very much.

I was loving this.   You might even say the corners of my mouth were even curled in an upward fashion.

Our first night saw us experience the delights of Mrs Parma's on Little Bourke Street.  

Mrs Parma's have full disclosure on their menu and website about possible traces but I had done my research, was informed and prepared.  Upon divulging our Coeliac status,  the staff member politely explained whilst they could not claim to be a 100% gluten free kitchen because of the fact that they use wheat products in the same kitchen, they would take great care when preparing my gluten free meal.  I can happily report no adverse effects.  What a great start.

Cafe Andiamo Strawberry Crepes

The next morning saw us walking the streets of the bustling CBD, discovering magic and hidden laneways at every turn.  And then we found it.  Degraves Street and the Holy Gail that is Cafe Andiamo.  Degraves Street like many Melbourne laneways has an uncanny resemblance to Diagon Alley.  Harry Potter fan or otherwise, you will love it.  The cafes and the hustle and bustle is fabulous.  The aroma of delicious coffee is all consuming.  So what led us here?  Strawberry Crepes my friends. Strawberry Crepes.  All gluten free and all as perfect as your imagination is allowing you right about now.  We frequented this establishment almost every day of our sojourn.  The kids ~ Coeliac and non-Coeliac alike, were lapping this culinary excellence right up and so was I.  The silence of breakfast satisfaction to the nth degree was truly golden.  I relished these morning moments while I slurped my superb coffee. And oh it WAS superb.  These Melbourne baristas have nailed the coffee thang. 

The rest of our stay consisted of ambling through the Queen Victoria Markets, people watching in Federation Square with a cheeky wine to accompany a late lunch at Transport Bar Federation Square, a tram ride to St Kilda for a look-see, some serious retail therapy in the CBD ~ a personal favourite The Emporium (the place is seriously A-M-A-Z-I-N-G), a trip to The Melbourne Zoo and frequent visits to Southbank of an evening to discover all the gluten free delights on offer - and there were many.  We experienced amazing buskers, artwork and friendly faces and help wherever we went.  The weather was also pretty fabulous.  I know right??

Gluten free is abundant in Melbourne. Not only that but there is a great understanding of gluten free, safe food prep/cross contamination issues in general.  These folk are really switched on where gluten free is concerned.  Hallelujah!

SpudBAR Fan

SpudBAR was a fav with my daughter.  With a 100% gluten free menu how could you go wrong?  Seriously yum.  We also enjoyed the likes of THRIVE in The Emporium and old favourites like Grill'd (various Melb locations).  Evenings saw us savour the delights of Bluetrain (Southgate Complex, Southbank) with various gluten free options and a very good understanding of GF prep and cross contamination issues, World Restaurant and Bar with various GF options and a separate fryer for chips :)  We also enjoyed a delicious GF risotto and wonderful service at the fabulous Tutto Bene - Southgate Complex (mid level), Southbank.  Fantastico.

Hopetoun Tea Rooms 

If you're in Melbourne, have a sweet tooth, are looking for a bit of extravagance and have the time ~ be sure to check out the delectable Hopetoun Tea Rooms (Block Arcade - CBD).  This place is the Aladdin's cave of cakes.  I'm not kidding. Decadent and delightful and lots of gluten free options.  Perfect for afternoon teas with mothers and daughters,  grandmothers and granddaughters or just with that someone special. 

Please understand this is a personal record and reflection of our wonderful experiences dining out in what is a fabulous destination for the gluten free traveller.  Please be vigilant about reading labels and assessing risks and make your own judgement about where you choose to eat - taking into account any possible cross contamination issues.  Menus change, Management changes.  Things always change. That's life.  Do your research, ask questions & make informed choices.  Be on top of your game.  Look after your health.  If in doubt, leave it out.  This is a priority as a person living with Coeliac Disease and will make for an extremely pleasant holiday.

Special thanks go to some especially lovely people & information sourced from -
The Australian Coeliac (September 2014 Issue), The Coeliac Plate (a fabulous website and reference point), Coeliac Victoria and Tasmania who went above and beyond to provide some invaluable information via email before we left and then delivered an information pack to our hotel,
Gluten Shmooten (an informative gluten free eating-in-Melbourne guide including fish & chips!) and finally Jas from the perfectly gorgeous The Gluten Free Scallywag - a wonderful blog that is worthy of some serious pouring over, who sent me a lovely email with the gluten free heads up for Melbs.

THANK-YOU!

I would also like to make special mention of the very sweet shopkeeper at a certain IGA 24 hour store on Queen street in the CBD who chased me up the street shouting "Miss! Miss!" just so that he could give my 2 littlies a Chupa Chup (GF of course) 'on the house' after frequenting his establishment on a few occasions.  WOW I love your people Melbourne.

I love your funky vibe. 

I love your bustle.

I love your FOOD.

I love your TOWN.

Until we meet again...

The Upside? of being Coeliac

So often I write about how easy it is to transform ingredients into delicious gluten free yummies and that it is not a difficult process. And indeed it's not.  It requires some adjustment and some imagination and for me, it involves a lot of love.  Love for my daughter who is Coeliac. Love for my daughter that was terribly sick as a young child because of Coeliac Disease.

But I'm not going to sit here and lie and tell you that being Coeliac is a breeze.  It's not.  I am an upbeat person 95% of the time.  I am. But today.. today I am going to shed some light on the downside of being Coeliac and be brutally honest.  Lets get down to brass tacks.  Coeliac Disease blows.

It has taken away spontaneity of going out.
It has taken away vast menu options.
It is often ostracizing.
Planning and research and continual questioning has become the norm.
The fact that gluten free has become trendy irritates me at times when people assume you're eating gluten free as a lifestyle choice rather than a medical necessity.  Just how Coeliac are you??  Kind of like being a little bit pregnant I suspect.

We often take our own food to friends and family because it's easier and to be honest I feel safer.  If they insist on making gluten free, I worry about the understanding of gluten free ingredients and cross contamination.  I have the added stress about the risk of offending by querying ingredients and food preparation.  I worry about banging on about it.  I do it anyway.  

I put together a birthday party box including cake & a take-home lolly bag for all birthday parties Abbey attends.  We don't go on overseas holidays.  Actually holidays anywhere are a rarity.
The stress of seeking out GF options for Abbey in a different country, disguised in a different cuisine gives me heart palpitations.  We'll wait till she's older and a little more enthusiastic to try different countries fare.  Imagine if she was glutened overseas.  That is my worst nightmare.  I prefer the safety of our own surrounds for the time being. 

But this impacts on not just Abb & I but our whole family.  The other 3 in our house are not Coeliac yet they are feeling the impact of these restrictions.. and this weighs heavily on me.


I have even had comments in the past from my own family who know I am Coeliac (asymptomatic) which are completely frustrating.  Comments like "oh but you can have just a little with no problems Tara - you're not like Abbey"  Aarrgghh.  "Sure.. I like to live on the edge - I guess if I can't SEE the damage being done to my insides.. it's not really happening right.."
  

Whilst both of us have biopsy-proven Coeliac Disease, Abbey reacts much differently to I.
Within a short time of  ingesting gluten, Abbey is extremely unwell.

The last time this happened, it was an innocent transaction of a cupcake between friends.
The cupcake was gluten free, it was just that it was innocently placed in a friend's lunchbox containing crumbs.. then handed back.  A lunchbox that contained crumbs of the gluten variety. Enough said.  There was no evil agenda or malice.
This was a regular school day that suddenly turned into a very bad and a very frightening situation. 

No-one knew the extent of what was about to happen including myself.
Those around Abbey soon realised that she had become suddenly unwell.
She was sitting in the corner of the classroom with her head in a bucket and looking pretty dreadful when I arrived.  She had already vomited so much that she had depleted her body of all energy.
I guess most would have assumed that once I left the schoolyard, I had just taken her home and comforted her until her body rid itself of the offender but sadly that was not the case.  She collapsed a couple of times before I even reached the car.  Panicking, I quickly had to make a decision - to drive to hospital or go home & call an ambulance? (home being only 10 minutes away).  I chose to go home.  My husband was away for work,  Abbey's younger brother was with us and her older brother was on his way home from school totally oblivious to what was going on.  She was becoming non-responsive and I was getting a little frantic.

I could not fault the response time for the ambulance - thank God for the Ambo's.  An assessment was done and the decision to take her to hospital was made.  The officers told me they had never really seen a reaction to gluten quite like Abbey's before.
I could breathe a little easier in the ambulance.  Although there's no quick fix, no EpiPen for a gluten episode, I was with the right people and if she got to the point of severe dehydration, they would know what to do with drips etc so until then, we just had to ride it out.  By the time we reached the children's hospital she was over the worst of it but the ambulance ride saw her being sick a few more times en route.  She managed to strip her oesophageal lining which was a little disconcerting but the ambulance officer explained it was from the severity of vomiting episodes and would settle.

The emergency department was operating at full capacity at that time of the evening, especially for a Friday so, by the time a doctor got around to us and Abbey had slept a while, she had all but recovered.  And that's the way it goes you know.  When the doctor finally got to her and she was looking pretty OK again you can't help but think that they are thinking "um..why are you here.."
And then we were sent on our way like nothing had even happened.  That's the way it goes with Coeliac Disease.  Within 24 hours she was back to her rosy cheeked, chatty self again.  What a ride.

So whilst it's not ideal, Abbey & I have the support of our immediate family and countless others who find themselves on the same Coeliac scenic cruise.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - there are far worse things it's true but it's cathartic to vent.
It pays to have a healthy sense of humour and an endless supply of laundry to keep me otherwise occupied.  I'd rather have an overseas holiday of course.. but 'til then I'll keep cooking up a storm  

Being Thankful - Happy Australia Day

As I sit here in the perfect 31degrees of it all I am THANKFUL.

I am thankful for the sunshine.
I am thankful for the cool swim.
I am thankful for the lifestyle we have as AUSTRALIANS.
I am thankful for the freedom.
I am thankful for the environment.
I am thankful for the good nature and decency of 98% of people that live in the lucky country.

I am NOT thankful for the dickheads who get off on lighting senseless fires.  I AM thankful for the unwavering bravery of our fireies.

I am NOT thankful for the dickheads who get off on king hitting some unsuspecting soul.  I AM thankful for constructive action to implement positive change.

I am NOT thankful for the bullying that is plaguing the youth of today.  I AM thankful for zero tolerance and positive role models.

I am thankful for the health of my family.  I am especially thankful for a diagnosis for my Coeliac daughter.  I am NOT thankful for the Coeliac part but I AM thankful that it is easily tackled, requires no medication and that a gluten free lifestyle means a happy & healthy little girl.  THRIVING even. 
I am also extremely thankful, that without her diagnosis, my own could quite possibly never have happened and could have led to dire straits later on (and not the Money For Nothing kind).  Every cloud has a silver lining.

and I am thankful for L A M I N G T O N S
<gluten free of course>

Small wins

Sometimes it seems the universe is trying to speak to you and everything feels just a little unfair.. you feel a little hard done by.. 
Ever heard that expression.. "like pushing XXXX uphill"?

Mmm.. well... I've had that kind of a week but I've decided to focus on the little things - in between the chaos and calamity there's been a few small wins and that is what will see me through this week and into next.. and hopefully, I'll look back and have a chuckle about the week that was.



Even though the risotto dinner choice was unanimously UNPOPULAR with the wee folk in my house the other night ~ it meant delicious leftovers and plenty of it for me for lunch today.  SMALL WIN

Even though our heating problem is STILL not resolved 3 weeks later and it's freezing ~ the serviceman was a little cocky about the whole affair and didn't want to accept any responsibility preferring instead to "pass the buck" but tripped through the doorway walking back through my house and looked completely stupid (and I'm sure from his expression FELT the same).  SMALL WIN

Even though the rain has been non-stop and a bit dreary to say the least ~ all the kids toys and paraphernalia outside have been put away and so the backyard has remained neat and tidy and RESPECTABLE all week.  SMALL WIN

Even though I have had to wear very UNattractive flannies to bed, with a singlet underneath, with socks, a very thick dressing gown over top, then sheet, then doona, then coverlet {due to serious lack of heating} ~ I have had THE BEST sleep for the past few nights than I have had for the past few years. SMALL WIN

Even though it looked like all efforts at obtaining decent SPRINGSTEEN tickets for the Perth shows in February had been thwarted ~ a third show has been announced and hopes are again HIGH.  SMALL WIN

AND THEN. This afternoon whilst hurrying to collect Abbey from class and dodging showers, Ben tripped and fell. Right in front of me. That's when I accidentally stood on his hand.  Ouch. It REALLY hurt.. I could tell from the way it squished under my boot. There was that.. and then there were his screams that rang out across the schoolyard.. Call me intuitive.  AND YET he's still my friend. GO FIGURE. SMALL WIN right there.
 

I hope you're kicking goals this week..